MATTERS OF LIFE AND DEATH

Abortions of disabled babies surge

Report charges practice outdated, discriminatory

A report from The Christian Institute reveals that abortions in the United Kingdom on disabled unborn babies surged 17 percent just last year.

That, according to a parliamentary commission headed by Member Fiona Bruce, is dancing dangerously close to eugenics, the practice of “improving a human population by controlled breeding.”

According to the Institute report, lawmakers in the UK now are calling for parliament to review the law that allows abortions should a physician simply state that there is a “substantial risk” that a child would be born seriously handicapped.

That law, lawmakers argue, could be outdated and might be discriminatory under the definition in the law.

“The commission said parents are being pushed into having an abortion if their baby is disabled, and in some cases for conditions which could be dealt with after birth such as club foot and cleft lip,” the Institute said.

Lawmakers, who noted that were 2,700 abortions last year under the “disabled” designation, say the question of abortion over disability also needs to be reconsidered because social attitudes on disability have changed in recent years.

“Priority must be given to addressing the real needs of women in crisis pregnancy, rather than just fobbing them off with vague platitudes about choice, and also to look at why so many crisis pregnancies occur in Britain today. There is widespread public confusion and ignorance about abortion,” the organization reported.

“On average, there is one abortion every three minutes. Many people believe that most abortions are carried out on underage girls, or in cases of rape, incest, fetal disability, and direct threat to life or health or the mother, but these account for a very small proportion. Under-18s account for less than 10 percent of the total. Ninety-seven percent of abortions are carried out under ground C of the Abortion Act, supposedly to preserve the psychological health of the mother. However, there is no evidence that abortion improves mental health outcomes for women in crisis pregnancy, and some evidence to suggest that abortion can actually worsen mental health outcomes. This is particularly relevant given the moves afoot in Ireland to allow abortion in cases where women are allegedly suicidal.”

The Institute also said the parliamentary report on abortion found, “It is time to review the moral, ethical, legal and practical framework within which this provision of the Abortion Act operates and how the law applies to a fetus beyond the age of viability.

“Given the changes in domestic and international law and societal attitudes in recent years which are influencing views on disability, we recommend that parliament reviews the question of allowing abortion on the grounds of disability.”

The group argued that current practices could be a violation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.